Samuel mcilvaine



(No Model.)

s. McILVAINE;

GAS GENERATOR. No. 402,534. Patented Apr. 30, 1 889.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

. V v ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS. Fholo-Lflhographen wmmmn. n. c. .1

I UNIT -D. ST TESv PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL MoILvAnvE, QF OAKWOOD, ONTARIO, ASSIGNOR o OATHARINE "fMOILVAINE, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

GAS-GENERATOR.

' SPECIFICATION forming part bf Letters Patent No. 402,534, dated April 30, 1889.

Q Application filed February 14:, 1888; Serial No. 263,967- (No model.)

To alZ'whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL MoILvAINE, of

Oakwood, in the Province of Ontario and Do-- minion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Retort-Vaporizer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in Vaporizers, and has for its Object to provide an apparatus of simple and cheap construction capable of use in any household and manipulation by anyperson of ordinary judgment and experience.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts of the apparatus, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, which represents a central vertical section through the improved generator.

In carrying out the invention a retort, 10, is constructed of cast-iron or fire-clay, preferaloly cylindrical in general contour,-which is in practice so located in the combustion chamber of a stove or furnace that its bottom is in close proximity to the fire or coals, so

that the retort is heated to a due degree.

The upper end of the retort is provided with an aperture, 11. p

In the center of the retort at the bottom a conical depression, 12, is produced, the object thereofbeingto obtain greaterheatin -surface, and over the interior projection thus formed Within the retort a f unnel-shaped partition, 14, is suspended. The diameter of the funnel is greater than that of the conical projection,

V and the said funnel is so hung as that the upon the retort over the aperture therein, the joints being made tight by an asbestus packing, and at the upper end the said cylin der is provided with a detachable cover, 18-, held in position by a suitable clamp, 19.

An annular cylinder, 20, for containing water surrounds the vertical cylinder 17, and in practice rests fiat on a stove or furnace top,

'21, while the retort 10 is located within the fire-boxzof the stove Or furnace. A tube, 22, is passed from the boiler 20 into the cylinder 17 and vertically downward Within the cylinder to a connection with the funnel 14 and into the retort. From the said tube 22 outside the cylinder another tube, 23, is projected upward, which connects with a tank, 30, adapted to contain crude oil. The pipes 22 and 23 are each provided with a valve, 24 and 25.

From the cylinder 17 an outlet-pipe, 26, is projected, connected to any suitable gas-tank. The receptacle 20 is provided with a Waterinlet, a safety-valve, and a discharge-faucet.

In Operation the retort is filled with about four parts fine charcoal or coke, preferably the former, and one part of iron scraps or trimmings well mixed together, the carbon monoxide being decreased by increasing the proportion of iron. The boih so haii filled with water and the tank 3 h c rude Oil. \Vhen the retort is red-hot a generated in the boiler, the oils will thereupon enter the fuunelechan l and become highly superheated and mrtiy decomposed by contact with the hotiron and charcoal and converted into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, but considerably more hy drogen gas, the proportion of hydrogen being increased by increasing the proportion of iron. These gases and superheated steam not decomposed now pass under the funnel and up through the mass of red-hot iron and charcoal or coke in the chamber 16, whereupon, rising upward and passing into the cylinder 17, the gases find an exit through the pipe 26 into a suitable gas-holder, as in water-gas hydrogen. hen the gas-holder becomes about one third full the steam is shut off and the oil is turned on in proper quantities, regulated by the valve 24. The oil, passing through the chambers 15 and 16, is decomposed and converted into an excellent illuminating-vapor, which upon entering the gas-holder mixes with the hydrogen, producing a gas ready for use without further puri fication. The hydrogen is more or less carbureted, according to the proportion of oil employed. a

The iron scrap or trimmings serve to keep the charcoal or coke hot as the steam or oil circulates through it. The iron also creates more hydrogen, as it takes up the oxygen from the water and prevents a surplus uniting with the carbon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a retort-vaporizer, the combination of the following parts: a retort having an open top and a central bottom elevation, a vertical cylinder set on said retort and having a 

